What is an Electronic Document Management System?

Written by | 2025

The business world is now fiercely competitive. Organizations need to manage and access information from a pool of documents. This conventional manual management of business documents consumes a lot of time. McKinsey report states employees spend 1.8 hours every day, which is around 9.3 hours per week, searching and gathering information. That’s where the electronic document management system takes center stage. 

It streamlines document handling, enhances efficiency, and mitigates the risks associated with manual processes. Organizations stay assured that they are getting high-quality data crucial for thriving in the dynamic business landscape. This article further delves into the details of the e-document management system and its features. Let’s dig in!

What is an Electronic Document Management System?

Electronic document management systems are software-based solutions that boost a business’s productivity. Automating the creation, storage, organization, retrieval, and sharing of digital documents within an organization is their main purpose. 

These systems are quickly replacing the traditional paper-based document management systems. Hence, offering a centralized and automated approach to handling documents like invoices, contracts, and other critical business files.

Key Features of Electronic Document Management Systems

The following are the key features of an electronic document management system:

Document or Data Capture and Importing

Electronic Document Management Systems can efficiently capture and import documents into a digital format. This includes converting physical documents into electronic versions through scanning or importing existing digital files. 

An overview of the EDMS data capturing and importing capabilities:

  • Document Scanning: Scans physical documents into a digital format using document scanners.
  • Document Indexing: Organizes the scanned data in a catalog form, making it easy to access and locate a particular information.
  • Importing Documents: Converts non-standard or incompatible document formats into standard ones using the EDMS built-in document formats.

Document Version Control

Another critical feature of EDMS is its document version control. It allows businesses to track and manage the changes made to a document over time. You get to know how a document has changed and developed over time. 

This information is crucial in avoiding confusion, errors, and conflicts arising during collaborative editing. In addition, it ensures users are working with the most recent iteration of a file. Hence fostering accuracy, accountability, and efficient collaboration within the organization. 

Analytics and Reporting

Accurate analytics and insights are important for the success of your business. Electronic document management systems have this unique analytics and reporting feature that provides a comprehensive overview of document usage, access patterns, and workflow efficiency. 

It analyzes system data and informs you about what documents are accessed and how frequently. You also get to know about the document version history, the number of documents waiting for approval, and when documents will expire. The EDMS dashboard shows you if there are unauthorized access attempts.

Backup and Archiving

Data is the most valuable asset of an organization. So, to prevent any data loss, EDMS has the ability to make multiple copies of documents. You can enable weekly or monthly data backups per your business’s needs. 

Security and Encryption

The best feature of an electronic document management system is its ability to safeguard your organizational data. 

Following are the security features you can find in an EDMS:

  • Encryption: This feature ensures that only people with a specific decrypting key can access a certain document, hence saving from malicious data stealing attempts.
  • Access Control: Gives users only access to documents connected to their field and saves your business from inadvertent data exposure.
  • Audit Trail: These features help you keenly check the activity in a document, such as modifications, access, or deletion. You can use it to track any suspicious activity.

Benefits of Electronic Document Management Systems

Electronic document management system benefits include the following:

Saves Money and Time

Employees usually spend most of their time managing and locating useful information from a bundle of paper-based documents. This consumes a lot of time and results in data quality errors that may cost your business. But not anymore! EDMS comes as a sigh of relief for all businesses. 

It promotes digital document management, reducing expenses related to printing, physical storage, and manual handling of documents. Employees can swiftly locate, retrieve, and collaborate on digital files, eliminating the delays that are normal with traditional document retrieval methods. Therefore, they get time to focus on more value-added tasks.

Robust Security

Security is paramount in today’s digital landscape. Opus & Ponemon Institute reports that 59% of companies have experienced a third-party data breach. This results in hefty losses and even reputation issues in the business world.EDMS plays a crucial role in safeguarding sensitive business information. It has features like access controls, encryption, and user authentication. Therefore, only authorized personnel can access and modify specific documents, preventing any possible cyber attacks.

More Accessible

Electronic document management systems digitize all your business documents. Employees can access documents from various locations, enabling remote collaboration and flexible work arrangements. This increased accessibility promotes seamless communication and collaboration among team members, ultimately boosting productivity. 

Environment-Friendly

Greenhouse gas emissions, increased carbon footprint, and paper waste all contribute to environmental deterioration. Businesses must focus on reducing their waste and carbon footprint, as 78% of consumers feel that sustainability is important. 

But worry no more! EDMS helps you achieve that eco-friendliness. It reduces the need for paper, ink, and physical storage space. All documents are stored online on the cloud, minimizing your carbon footprint and taking you on the list of sustainable businesses.

Conclusion

Electronic document management systems greatly help businesses grappling with data management and security. These systems reduce downtime, save money, and offer robust security. If you want to get the best document management software to automate information storage and retrieval, DOCUmation has you covered. We offer exceptional UCaaS and EDMS solutions that allow you to access and organize all your business information. 

Our secure and reliable EDMS software offers insights into document history and improves collaboration. Employees can access authorized files from anywhere and anytime. So, contact us at DOCUmation today and get your hands on the best EDMS solutions, safe from all vulnerabilities. 

DOCUmation is the largest privately-held technology solutions company in Texas. The Managed Service Provider offers an array of business solutions including process automation, print management, managed IT and IT help desk, VoIP, smartboards, and more. DOCUmation office locations include San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Abilene, Midland-Odessa, Houston – The Woodlands and beyond.